Southern Yemen’s coastal Shabwah Province has changed hands, with pro-UAE forces having expelled Governor Adyo, and replaced him with Awadh Awlaqi.
This has been a long time coming. The pro-UAE factions objected to the old governor, who led fighters against them back in 2019. The two sides have fought over the Balhaf port.
The Hadi government is largely aligned with Saudi Arabia, while the UAE more closely backs southern separatists and other groups. They are keen to retain influence along the Yemeni coast, and efforts like this one could make that happen.
The force running Shabwah isn’t separatist just now, however. Awlaqi is a politician with the GPC, and seems to be the UAE’s preferred choice as a palatable choice for governor who isn’t aligned directly against them.
The UAE is the one that tricked Saudi Arabia to war in Yemen. It continues to creat factions and divisions among the people of Yemen and spread misery and deaths. The UAE has designs on Yemen to control its resources and territories.